CENTRAL COAST - WAMBERAL BEACH - SURF - 30 march 2013

A sunny, warm Easter day. This adds up to crowds. And crowded it was but there were waves to be ridden along the beach.

After a surf, I filmed the shore break at Wamberal. A few near misses.

AUSTRALIA - WATAGANS STATE FOREST - MTB - 29 march 2013

I parked on Tobias Road in Mandalong on the edge of the Watagans State Forest.

It was a good long hard ride with big steep up hill grinds and fast downhills .

I turned off at Sawpit Road which was more of a track. I went through puddles, mud and fell a number of times. The road came to a dead end so I back tracked and took a turn downhill along a rutted track that ended in a rainforest. T'was very steep!

Eventually, I joined back with the returning road.


distance        15.52 km
time              1h 50mins
av speed       8.5km/h
max speed    35.9km/h

CENTRAL COAST - TOOWOON BAY - SNORKEL - 27 march 2013

I looked around for some surf but there wasn't much on offer so decided on a snorkel.

I checked out Blue Bay ( looked a little lumpy) and Shelley (more wind effected) and Toowoon looked to be the best of the picks.

I waded out on the southern side of the beach. The waves were a little strong though that was a lot of fun to ride amongst. I moved to the eastern end and it was more sheltered allowing for clearer calmer waters.

Generally, a good snorkel.

AUSTRALIA - HAWKESBURY RIVER - PARSLEY TO PORTO BAY - KAYAK - 19 march 2013

A sunny and cool day. I decided to join the Toukley Kayakers Club on their paddle around part of the Hawkesbury River.

The parking was at McKell Park in George Street, Brooklyn. There is a small sheltered harbour.



We launched and paddled across the mouth of Porto Bay. Along the waters edge, there were some very steep and sculptured rocks.

Porto Bay looked very interesting so I branched away from the main group and backed tracked into the bay. It was very scenic with smaller bays and inlets, mangroves, oyster strewned shoreline and oyster farms.

Paddled between the oyster farm rows gave a close up view of the oysters and the way they are farmed. Due to the farms paddling was a little divergent at times.

A great paddle.

distance       8.85km
time             2h 5mins
av speed      4.2 km/h
max speed   6.6 km/h

CENTRAL COAST - WYONG RIVER - KAYAK - 16 march 2013

I've done the Wyong River before but lately there had been a lot of rain so how has it changed..



I parked at Woodbury park off Old Maitland Road at Alison near Wyong.

It was a bit of a steep descent to the river with deep muddy clay on the edge of the banks. The water was brown and smelled of clay.

The river had changed a lot as it was much more narrower and steeper. The banks had caved in bringing with them trees and bushes. The navigation was hard around, through, over and under these obstacles but heaps of fun and challenging.

I didn't get too far as it became too difficult to pass.

On the way, there were birds, lizards and even a fox.

distance       4.26 km
time             1 h 6mins
av speed      3.8 km/h
max speed   9.7 km/h

CENTRAL COAST - WALLARAH CREEK - KAYAK - 12 march 2013

I joined the Toukley Kayaking Club for a more social kayak.

The starting point was Brudenell Ave, San Remo. There is also a starting point at the junction of  Wallarah Creek and Spring Creek where there is a vacant block allowing access.

The kayak was fun. In a couple of spots there was a bit of a bottle neck.

The paddle was along Wallarah Creek and one of the tributaries. There is still one more to explore.



distance     10.05 km
time           2h 06 min
av speed    4.8 km/h
max speed 7.3 km/h

AUSTRALIA - STOCKTON CREEK - KAYAK - 4 March 2013

I parked at Kelbrae Close Morisset. At the end of the cul de sac there is a path allowing easy access to the river.



The paddle started at Dora Creek but after a short distance, I paddled into Stockton Creek.

The water was very brown after the rains. Along the way, I passed under three bridges. There was also a number of birds but the lizards were the highlight as they sunned themselves on the branches and logs overhanging the creek.

As I got closer to the highway bridge, the water beame more turbulent. Eventually, I could go no further due to a strong current and logs blocking access. I tried porterage but the banks were very overgrown and slippery clay. I had a lot of fun paddling back with the curent producting a few more km/h to my paddling speed.

A nice kayak. Certainly, the extra water makes the waterways more vibrant.


8.14 km
1h 57 mins
av speed     4.2 km/h
max speed  7.9 km/h